Happy international day of persons with disabilities!!♿️🤍💙 I thought this would be a good opportunity to share about my disability and how it affects my life. When I was nine years old, I was diagnosed with Charcot Marie Tooth (CMT). CMT is a neuromuscular disease where the nerves in your legs and arms die due to the myelin sheath around the nerves deteriorating. This nerve loss also causes the muscles surrounding them to die. CMT can also cause both loss of sensation and nerve pain called neuropathy. This disease is degenerative, meaning it will get worse as my life progresses. I also have Ehlers Danlos Syndrome which affects my joints and causes the connective tissue that holds them in place to be too stretchy. This has caused my knees to dislocate multiple times which caused me to have double knee surgery at age 13. This also has caused chronic joint pain due to my bones moving too much within the sockets. The combination of these two diseases cause me to get tired a lot faster than most, simply because my muscles work differently. I use AFO leg braces which allow me to walk more stably and for a longer time. These diseases also cause chronic pain that is constant but also becomes worse with situations such as overuse of muscles and cold weather. This day is a good reminder for everyone to be aware of what people with disabilities are experiencing. Notice when places in your life are inaccessible. When an elevator or automatic door is not working for you it may be inconvenient, but remember that for some people they are unable to get to their destination due to these obstacles. Feel free to share :) #disabilityawareness #charcotmarietoothdisease #elhersdanlossyndrome @mdaorg